Led by the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI), public sector banks logged a record cumulative profit of Rs 52,603 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting an 18 per cent year-on-year growth.
Yes, the entry of private bankers, particularly with global experience will add value to PSBs, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Indian banking sector could be due for a rise in profitability after several quarters of net interest margin (NIM) compression. The Q2FY26 results suggest NIMs have bottomed out.
Banking operations at public sector banks across the country were impacted on Tuesday as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) went on nationwide strike demanding the immediate implementation of a five-day work week.
Each employee is generating more business than before -- driven by cost rationalisation, digital adoption, and better resource utilisation -- signalling a stronger foundation for sustainable growth and profitability.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains for the second straight session on Monday, driven by optimism over the India-US trade deal and robust buying in public sector banks, consumer durables, and realty stocks.
The new labour Codes, notified by the central government in November 2025, have pushed up employee costs for private-sector banks and insurance companies, with these firms reporting higher operating expenses in the October-December quarter (Q3FY26) due to the statutory impact of the new labour Codes.
Two of the three strikes are related to the gig economy, a centrepiece of the new labour Codes.
'Credit growth in India remains in double digits, even though corporate borrowing is subdued.' 'Corporate credit is weak because companies are cash-rich and cautious amid global uncertainty.'
The finance minister said that consolidation of state-owned banks could proceed at any time without waiting for the recommendations of the proposed high-level committee on banking.
The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Brokerages were divided on Bajaj Finance after its 2025-26 (FY26) third-quarter (October-December/ Q3) results, with a few raising targets on valuation comfort, while others flagged concerns over the credit cost trajectory.
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
Public sector banks' (PSBs') employee count grew for the first time in five years while private sector banks' staff strength saw a decline in 2024-25 (FY25), according to latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The employee count of state-owned lenders rose 0.22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 757,641 at the end of March 31, 2025 from 756,015 in FY24.
Public sector banks have written off loans worth Rs 6.15 lakh crore in the last five and a half years, Parliament was informed on Monday.
This was up 30 per cent from the same period last year, even as the number of frauds fell 2.8 times to 5,092.
Banking sector has witnessed healthy growth in advances in the third quarter of financial year 2026 (Q3FY26) against the same period last year, as the full impact of goods and service tax (GST) rate cuts drove growth. Most of the lenders saw their credit growth outpace the deposit growth in the quarter.
In November, six primary market issuances accounted for more than 13,000 crore of net equity investments by MFs.
India's private-sector banks are likely to lose market share for a second consecutive year in 2025-26, as their loan books continue to expand much slower than overall bank credit.
Over 50 per cent, or 660 stocks, from the BSE 1000 index recorded negative returns during CY25.
Sectoral funds, focused exclusively on public sector banks (PSBs), have delivered the strongest returns among domestic mutual fund (MF) categories over the past six months. However, active banking funds have significantly lagged because of their heavy tilt towards private lenders.
In order to optimise branch efficiency, public sector banks (PSBs) are reworking their strategies to streamline operations and reduce cost amid changing customer behaviour. The strategies include closing or merging low traffic branches and reducing their size in smaller centres.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its Financial Stability Report (FSR), cautioned that stress tests indicate two scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) may have to dip into their capital conservation buffers (CCBs), unless stakeholders infuse capital, under a scenario involving a gradual slowdown in domestic GDP growth and a moderate rise in inflation, with limited policy easing space available to the central bank.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday allayed apprehension that privatisation of state-owned banks would hurt financial inclusion and national interest. She said the bank nationalisation done in 1969 has not yielded the desired result as far as financial inclusion was concerned.
State Bank of India-led public sector banks posted a record cumulative profit of Rs 49,456 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting a 9 per cent year-on-year growth despite two lenders reporting a decline. All 12 public sector banks (PSBs) together made a profit of Rs 45,547 crore in the September quarter of FY25.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the country needs big and world-class banks, and discussions are on with the Reserve Bank and lenders in this regard.
Opening up the corner office is fine, but will the government be able to attract talent without giving a market-rate salary?, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'There are no additional benefits for banks and market participants to use CBDC...'
Beginning next month, a bank customer can opt for up to four nominees in her or his account with a view to ensure uniformity, and efficiency in claim settlement across the banking system. The key provisions relating to Nomination under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 will come into effect from November 1, 2025, a finance ministry statement said on Thursday.
Companies, particularly those that are notified as Significant Data Fiduciaries, will have to make extensive investments in data mapping, process modification, consent management tools, tools to enable Data Principal Rights, and establish a well-structured Data Privacy Officer organisation.
Batting for further consolidation in public sector banking, the executives of top public sector banks (PSBs) said there should be at least two Indian banking entities among the top 20 global banks.
Noting that recent uncertainties created by global tariffs have not impacted the Indian economy severely, Anuradha Thakur, secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said the central government is hopeful that the recent goods and services tax (GST) rationalisation will ignite the much needed animal spirits in the financial sector.
Card and Internet banking frauds formed 56.5% of all cases in FY25.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Payment Systems Report highlighted that between 2019 and 2024, credit card transactions doubled in volume and almost tripled in value. During the same period, however, debit card transactions witnessed a decline, both in volume and value.
As deposit growth lags credit expansion, Indian banks face shrinking low-cost Casa inflows, rising funding costs, and structural shifts driven by UPI, e-Kuber, and digital savings trends, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The pickup was driven partly by fresh corporate investment but more by higher working-capital demand.
But selectively, with regulatory scrutiny and special approval, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'Corporates now have multiple funding sources beyond banks, and many are sitting on large cash reserves.'
'What we have to think about is, how to improve the efficiency of public sector banks.' 'You have to make decision-making more prudent, and free from government intervention.'
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